Another break-in in South Durham subdivision today (Cary, Chapel Hill: appointed, how much)

[douknownam]

Originally Posted by evaofnc

Another thing you can do is get a dog. Preferably one that barks when someone is approaching the property.

My dogs bark at any sound they think comes from outside the house. However, the only problem is that I have a mini poodle and a maltese The poodle has a fairly deep bark for a smaller dog, but if the thief is casing my house then I'm sure he'd see me walking my < 15lb dogs

[evaofnc]

Believe it or not size doesn't seem to matter according to that study. Small dogs can have just as nasty of a bite as big dogs. And the commotion that comes with dogs barking just means it's easier to rob a house that doesn't have barking dogs. I'm hoping because pretty much everyone in our neighborhood owns some form of dog the would-be criminals will just keep on truckin' past our street

[ncmickey]

There is crime everywhere. Unless they are just stealing laptops, ipads, jewlery ect, they are probably not coming off the Tabacco trail. If its bigger things they are probably driving. Not much the HOA can do, with out jacking up dues sky high for marginal sucess.

A neighborhood watch would be great. I live in an area with 200 townhomes. Its very quiet and safe. Very close to Duke. When the HOA tried to get one going...ONE person showed up. Can hardly find board members let alone run security! lol

We had a rash of breakins a few years ago. It was a guy who lived in the neighborhood. He would watch out the window and rob the neighbors townhome when they went to work. He finally got caught and spent a couple years in jail/probation. One stipulation of his probation was he wasnt allowed in the Neighborhood. He even came back in spite of that. The neighbors complained and called the news. WRAL did a story on it and the next day he was back in jail.
We all thought that was the end of the story....

Till his probation ended and he moved back in with his GF. She owns the place, so what can you do. The HOA is powerless in such circumstances.

I hope hes reformed.....

Buy good locks and alarms w/ signs and stickers. But if someone wants to get in they WILL get in. Just dont make it easy for them.

[PDXmom]

Originally Posted by Bull City Rising

Also, I don't think any of the major Triangle cities permit gated communities, FWIW.

There is a subdivision right beside Creekside Elementary that is a gated community. The name of it is escaping me. Its' the one that has the huge homes that look rather southwestern in design. Seems like it would be better suited for South Cali. This area is technically Town of Chapel Hill and Durham Co. Not sure if you consider this a "major city".

There are also gated communities that are along the ATT in Chatham County. They aren't far from Southpoint.

OP, thanks for sharing about the back door being kicked in. I've always wondered about the safety of the standard back door in newish homes. A fenced in yard is in our future so I'll make sure we have a locking gate on it too.

FWIW, I found out the same thing is happening in Fairfield. Also near Southpoint. I think it's a bigger n'hood than yours. So hopefully the police are making a concerted effort to patrol the area more. I think I'll call and ask so they know citizens are concerned.

While I'm out and about I will look for suspicious activity.

Good luck.

[peperoberto]

Originally Posted by ncmickey

There is crime everywhere. Unless they are just stealing laptops, ipads, jewlery ect, they are probably not coming off the Tabacco trail. If its bigger things they are probably driving. Not much the HOA can do, with out jacking up dues sky high for marginal sucess.

I'm a bit confused about the OP's mention of the ATT, if other than for location. A greenway would make a terrible getaway for a thief. Instead, they're going to be using a car. It's just like all the fuss I heard from some folks about having a nearby commuter train station bringing in crime. Do they really think a criminal is going to walk down the ATT or take a train carrying a stolen flat screen TV?

[h2ohzrd]

Originally Posted by peperoberto

I'm a bit confused about the OP's mention of the ATT, if other than for location. A greenway would make a terrible getaway for a thief. Instead, they're going to be using a car. It's just like all the fuss I heard from some folks about having a nearby commuter train station bringing in crime. Do they really think a criminal is going to walk down the ATT or take a train carrying a stolen flat screen TV?

I think it's the lack of neighbors to the rear that makes houses along the ATT attractive.

[WDJ]

During Christmas time, we had a few break-ins in our neighborhood, which is on the border of SW Durham and Chapel Hill. We've had a neighborhood watch program going on for a long while, and our mailing list is pretty active. In the past few days, I've gotten emails about suspicious cars to be on the lookout for. The advice given out to us is to mark down license plate numbers and descriptions of any mysterious vehicles driving around the area. And when in doubt about a crime, just call the police.

[Cleave119]

We had some vandalism in our neighborhood 3 nights in a row basically and our HOA hired private security from Raleigh (they actually had arresting privileges here) and they patrolled for 4 nights with no further incidents they were able to catch. The DPD also made a few "directed patrols" which you can certainly talk to the DPD or district office about where a patrol car drive through at random but regularly.

[majidmo]

Originally Posted by peperoberto

I'm a bit confused about the OP's mention of the ATT, if other than for location. A greenway would make a terrible getaway for a thief. Instead, they're going to be using a car. It's just like all the fuss I heard from some folks about having a nearby commuter train station bringing in crime. Do they really think a criminal is going to walk down the ATT or take a train carrying a stolen flat screen TV?

It appears that in some cases they have been using ATT for monitoring the houses so they know when the house is empty. In some other cases they used parking lot of a church across from subdivision for monitoring. Almost every time they came in as soon as people left the house.

[nogard13]

Originally Posted by evaofnc

Another thing you can do is get a dog. Preferably one that barks when someone is approaching the property.

I know that sounds silly, but I remember reading a study for a course I was taking on social deviance where they interviewed a bunch of burglars. The vast majority of them said that if they had to choose between a house with a dog and a house with a security system to rob, they'd choose the one with the security system every time. Dogs makes too much noise and are likely to attack you, whereas with a security system they can take their chances that it'll take the police 20 minutes to show up.

My dog would probably just lick the criminals to death but they don't know that when they just hear her barking through the front door.

Yes, I've read similar studies. Criminals look for the low-hanging fruit, i.e. the houses that are easy to break into and that are the easiest to get away from. Houses in a cul-de-sac, corner lot, or in on a dead-end street tend to be safer because thieves have higher exposure when it comes time to make the getaway.

As mentioned before, lights, dogs, security/alarm signs, and the appearance of someone being home usually is enough to drive the burglar to search for an easier target. Unless they are targetting you specifically (new TV box on your driveway, for instance).